Scharffen Berger was a name I hadn't heard of until I came acrossFamily Fresh Cooking'sgiveawayannouncement. I used to mostly nosh on Cadbury and Ferrero Rocher earlier, had tasted Lindt, Lindor and Godiva, tried Ghirardelli after moving to the States, and as a beginner, started baking with the good ol' and common Hersheys and Nestlé products. From what I understand, Scharffen Berger falls under the premium category, more for the professional bakers and those who fancy finest dark chocolates. Just how some prefer fresh, real coffee from coffee beans instead of instant coffee powder!

To my surprise, I won the Scharffen Berger giveaway (valued at $140!) and received it just before Christmas, with everything in the box enough to last me until after New Years! This being the first giveaway I ever won in life felt even better when I saw the cookbook - the very first cookbook in my life that I now proudly own :-)

I detest mooli ki kanji. I don't know what others call it as, but mooli ki kanji is radish chunks in some pickle-sorta liquid and super stinky. Once the lid of the bottle of kanji opens at home, the stench is inevitable. No offense to those who like it, but it is because of that kanji I started hating radish since childhood.

But this muli ka paratha (radish stuffed paratha) changed my view and I accepted that radish in itself is not stinky and does not taste as bad as I had imagined.

Roaches, lizards, and rats were not uncommon visitors back home in India. Even monkeys, cats, and sometimes tiny snakes. I've either seen some of 'em back then or have at least heard stories. But having one of those visitors in our apartment here in US was a surprise. More of a shock, if I may admit. Especially because we figured out several days later after it made its small home in our home. We had been noticing the fruits being nibbled, but thought it was probably some insect, until one night ...

This Spinach and Paneer Stuffed Paratha does not mean it is made of Palak Paneer gravy, no. The chopped spinach and crumbled paneer is cooked with spices and filled as a stuffing into the paratha. You can make these stuffed parathas for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or freeze the stuffing and use later to make parathas when you are short on time.

Sweet Potato (aka Yam in North America; Shakarkandi in Hindi) looked more orangish-pinkish here in US than I’ve seen them as back home. I used to love eating the creamish-colored sweetened shakarkandi & tried making the same, just gave it a fancy name ‘Sugar Glazed Sweet Potato’, haha.

And when I grated one, it looked like grated carrots, so I experimented Kheer with it & it worked. Now I’m beginning to think anything can be added to make kheer, hehe! I especially loved the color – it would have taken a tablespoon of saffron in a regular rice kheer to obtain the beautiful yellowish-orange color that I got with sweet potato itself.

Puran Poli (also known as Holige / Obbattu / Bobatlu / Bobbatlu / Puranachi Poli in different parts of India) is a Maharashtrian style roti-like flatbread called ‘poli’ with sweet split Bengal gram (chana dal) stuffing known as ‘puran’, mostly made during festivals or special occasions - but in my case, any time.Although wikisays Puran Poli is a dessert, I have NEVER seen it eaten as dessert – it is almost like a one-meal main course (because it is so sugary & loaded with ghee!), known to be eaten along with Chana Dal Amti. However, whenever I have had Puran Poli in Maharashtra and Hyderabad - whether for lunch or dinner - it was always with Kadhi (withoutthe Pakora) – and that’s how I love it too.Puran Poli and Kadhi. There's something about the sweet, soft poli dipped in a tangy, salty kadhi. Yum.

In this post, since it's winters, most of the ones here are especially for skincare products. Since we need to purchase lots of lotions & body creams for the forthcoming months, might as well save on them here & there!

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